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Her day begins with bells.
Ina can’t wake herself up out of her bed. The sound of church bells rattles her room. Every gong gong gong makes her ears ring. She’s not used to this heightened sensitivity. She’s not used to how sharp her ears are. She sees Ao-chan rise in her peripheral vision. There’s a grumpy note that translates across their bond.
Ina smiles at that, good morning sleepy head.
She gets a garbled mess of complaints in return. She giggles, finding the energy to get up and get ready for her day. That motivation slowly withers as she heads down from her room to join the rest of the church.
She stands in the ruins of something that once was. An altar may have existed if the roof hadn’t flooded in and ruined that whole area. The windows are all smashed saved for a few stained-glass ones. Their color is washed out and rain damaged. The dilapidated mess of a building is where she stands, taking in the musty smell of rotted wood and the sound of rain.
A few priests are pushing buckets under the hole in the ceiling. A part of her, the part of her that still has hopes and dreams, finds the sight amusingly cute. It’s a fleeting thought. She joins them, her tentacles making the job much faster. She tries to ignore the bows of respect. It feels physically draining to hear priestess, thank you, priestess, we couldn't survive without you, priestess-
Ina wanted to be an artist.
Once.
Tomorrow is another day, she tells herself. This was her shelter, her temporary home away from the world. A place that helped her understand her powers while keeping her away from people who would take that from her. She's grateful to this place. Really, she is. The monotony of it is just something she’d have to endure. She can endure it. She will. Once the church is repaired, she’ll be on her way, debt-free.
Ina stands guard over the buckets. The priests resume feeble repairs around the church, but not much can be done during a storm. Ina's keeping her face neutral, lest her disappointment show. Her tentacles are able to move buckets around without spilling them. She’ll need to go outside and empty them soon.
“Nice trick.”
Ina startles, nearly tipping over a bucket. She looks behind her accusingly. She’s not surprised but bemused by the enigma casually lounging on one of the broken pews. She can recognize the clothing well enough. An investigator was here. Again.
“Can I help you?” She asks crisply.
The woman isn’t even looking up at her. She’s writing something down in a notebook, “Can you tell me how many you can summon at one time?”
Ina furrows her brow, “My tentacles?”
“Yes.” The girl points at her without looking up. “Very cute by the way.”
“Charmed.” Ina retorts icely. “Who are you?”
Blue eyes flash up to her, “A person of no consequence. I’m just here to prevent a catastrophe, don’t mind me.”
“I mind.” Ina hugs her arms close to herself, “Are you studying me, investigator?”
“Detective.” The woman corrects. Ina raises an eyebrow at that. “And yes. Is that a problem? I can do it from the roof if you don’t want to see me.”
Ina slowly blinks. She glances up at the hole and back down. The woman is smirking.
“You’re teasing me.” Ina realizes.
“Well, you could call it bullying actually.” The woman waves her hand, “Sorry. I’ll be a fly on the wall. You won’t even notice me.”
Ina’s gaze goes flat, “Typically, bugs don’t speak.”
“Ouch.” The woman hisses, but she’s still holding that smile. “I deserved that. I’d say you don’t need to be on edge, but this is your home, isn’t it? I’m just a stranger here.”
Ina hesitates over the word home. That sounds too tangible. Something binding and drawing her back in. She doesn’t like it. “I’d feel better getting a name from you.”
“Amelia Watson.” The blonde wiggles her fingers in a wave. It’s surprisingly childish for her. “And yours?”
Ina schools her expression when she says, “Ina.”
Amelia tilts her head, “No last name?”
“None that you’ll hear.”
“That’s fine.” Amelia is standing up with a stretch, “You actually gave me the information I needed anyway.”
Ina pauses. She scrutinizes the detective more closely. She hadn’t given anything away in her talk with the detective. There weren’t a lot of people in this world with magical abilities like herself, but that’s not something that’s easy to hide.
Amelia sets her notepad on the pew, not breaking eye contact with Ina. She smiles, “I’ll be back tomorrow, Ina’nis.”
Ina clenches her jaw. She watches the detective go with dread pooling in her stomach. When she finally works up the nerve to retrieve the forgotten notepad, she thumbs through it in disbelief. There are drawings of the local area, notes about the church, entire sections filled in about the priests here. Nearly half the book is about her and Ao-chan. At the back of it, stuffed between pages detailing her abilities, is a missing person pamphlet.
Ina’s own face stares up at her. Younger, wide-eyed, and happy Ina. An Ina that was on her way to class when she found a book that changed everything.
Tomorrow is another day, Ina promises herself. With shaking hands, she tears the notepad in two.
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Ina spends the next day on eggshells.
She had a life far separated from the one she handles now. A life before, where she went to school and lived at home- a real home- and enjoyed commodities she’d never find here. She aches for that life. She misses it so much it roots her in bed every morning, drawing out a wistfulness that empties her.
Stop, she chides herself. She can feel pressure behind her eyes and she’s quick to wipe any tears away, stop hurting yourself. You’ll go back soon. This isn’t forever.
When she goes down to join the church, Amelia is there. She’s in the same spot as yesterday but entirely absorbed in whatever she’s got going on with her phone. She has a new stack of notebooks beside her. Ina notices the pen she’s tucked behind her ear.
Cute, she thinks. She stamps that thought out.
“Good morning detective.” Ina greets coolly.
Amelia glances up at her. A small smile forms on her face, “Is it? You look like you didn’t sleep a wink.”
Ina bristles, “And I wonder whose fault that is.”
“Oh yikes.” Amelia is waving her hand, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Did you think leaving that note was cool?” Ina asks. She crosses her arms, “Did you report me?”
Amelia rubs the back of her head, “Straight to point, hm? No. I didn’t.”
“You were hired.” Ina accuses. The coldness in her drops at the thought of her family, “...did you tell them?”
“I haven’t said a word.” Amelia goes back to her notepad. It’s a forced nonchalance that has Ina raising an eyebrow. “My job was to retrieve you, not play messenger.”
“Retrieve me.” Ina echoes. She’s split down the middle. The younger side of her trills happily at the idea of her family. The side of her that picked up the book feels hundreds of years older than she actually is. “I’m afraid you’ll be waiting a while.”
“I’m already aware.” Amelia glances up at her, “Asked around. Staying out of obligation, right? It’s pretty noble to want to see this place back to its former glory.”
Ina doesn’t know what to say to that. Ao-chan floats into her hands and she hugs the book closely. An awkward silence floats between them.
“Did they,” Ina struggles to find her words, “um… did they say anything about me?”
Amelia watches her knowingly, “... A bit. Would you like to sit down and talk?”
Ina looks around at the church. More than anything she wants to sit and listen to the stories of her family. It’s the first word she’s heard of them in years. But there’s only a select amount of priests and the storm damage really set them back. She has work to do.
“Perhaps some other time.” Ina murmurs. “It was nice meeting you, Amelia.”
Amelia smiles, “Likewise.”
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The days continue on.
Ina finds herself rising from bed easier. She blames it on the idea of her family out there still searching for her. It gives her hope and motivation. She tackles the day's chores with more determination than before. The whole time, she can feel Amelia’s gaze.
Sometimes, she stops to chat.
“Here again, detective.” She greets. It’s the tamest start to a conversation they’ve had.
Amelia waves to her, “As always. I actually need your permission for something.”
“Oh? That’s new.”
Amelia scoffs, “I’m not heartless. Your medical records are public, but your school records have been frozen. I’d need your permission to revive them.”
Ina slowly blinks, “...my school.”
“Yes?” Amelia tilts her head. She looks worried, “Unless you don’t want to go back to classes, which is understandable I guess, but like-”
“No, uh,” Ina scratches the side of her nose shyly, “...I just wasn’t expecting that. I do want to go back, yes, when I...when I return.”
Amelia watches her quietly. She looks like she’s piecing together a puzzle. She murmurs, “I see.”
“Thank you.” Ina winces at how stiff she sounds, “I haven’t been very welcoming.”
“It’s fine.” Amelia smiles, “So what’s on your agenda today?”
Ina fidgets. She doesn’t know why the question makes her nervous. She feels like she’s in front of a classroom introducing herself for the first time, “Um… the windows.”
“Tough work.” Amelia stands up with a sigh, throwing her arms out into a stretch, “Alright. Where do you need me?”
Ina blinks, “Pardon?”
Amelia sheepishly gestures around her, “I feel like a jerk just sitting here waiting. I’d rather get to work and help out.” To punctuate this, she’s shrugging off her coat and rolling up her sleeves. Ina eyes her bare arms longer than she should. “Direct me where to go and I’ll do my best.”
“... that’s kind of you,” Ina whispers, her chest warm. “You can help me with the windows.”
“Okay.” There's a charm to Amelia’s smile that Ina’s starting to like, “Lead the way.”
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“I can’t make you leave, by the way.”
Ina looks up from her task. It’s warm outside. Pleasant enough they’re able to work with wheelbarrows and wood chopping and everything that’s sweaty and gross. Ina praises Ao-chan consistently. She’s suffering the least from all this. Beside her, Amelia is taking a break, pressing a water bottle to her forehead as she savors the shade from the church.
“You have to want to leave.” Amelia is saying, “When you say you’re ready to go, you have to mean it. There’s no point in taking you home if you have regrets.”
“Regrets…” Ina looks down at the planks by her feet. One of her tentacles is sawing at some to her left. She can hear the priests hammering away inside. “If this place can stand tall, then I can leave in peace.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Amelia leans back on her hands. She’s looking upwards, exposing the length of her throat. Ina can't take her eyes off it. “I meant… Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. We’ll find out when the time comes.”
“I want to go back to my family,” Ina says, unsure what Amelia is trying to say. “You think I want to stay here?”
Amelia glances at her. There’s a note of sadness and something else Ina can’t parse. Her fingers are running along the watch at her belt.
“Let’s just say I have a few hunches of what’ll happen.”
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Storms are rolling in.
Ina holds the blanket over the both of them as they sit in a corner of her room. Amelia is writing away at her notepad, her tongue poking out as thunder rolls around them. Ina finds it adorable. She leans her head on the detective’s shoulder and watches Amelia write out her thoughts.
“That’s messy,” Ina says.
Amelia frowns, “Who said you could be nosy? Sheesh.” She’s ripping the page out and stuffing it into another notebook, “It’s for another case I have lined up after this one.”
“After…?” Ina hesitates. She’d forgotten Amelia was here on job, not out of personal interest. She leans off her shoulder, suddenly feeling colder than before. It’s fine. “I see.”
Amelia glances at her, “That was heavy. You’re thinking something sad. Spill.”
“No, it’s-” Ina looks down at her hands. “... you mentioned how I’m here out of obligation. You’re the same, aren't you? You’re here out of obligation.”
Amelia tenses beside her. Ina can’t look at her, afraid she’ll find something she doesn’t want to see. Her heart does fretful circles in her chest. She nearly jumps out of her skin when she feels Amelia’s hand over hers. She risks looking over.
Amelia is hiding her face in her knees, “Yeah, I guess we’re both kinda stupid about our obligations.”
Ina exhales, “You feel obligated… to me?”
“It’s more than that.” Amelia turns her head away, “It’s nothing. Don’t mind me.”
Ina opens her mouth but nothing comes out. Her heart is stuck between tremulous emotions. She can’t find the words she wants to say. Amelia’s hand grips hers a little tightly, a small reassurance.
Tomorrow is another day, Ina thinks. This time, it feels like a bad omen.
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The storm did worse than knock-out windows.
Ina stands in the middle of a disaster. The hole in the ceiling is a gaping maw. A dangerous amount of debris is on the floor below it. There’s shattered glass dotting the floor like fallen stars. The pews are wet with mold. She can’t even find where the door went.
They’ve been set back months.
Ina feels pressure behind her eyes. A hand is closing around her chest and it’s attaching a chain from her to this church. The priests around her look on mournfully. She can see Amelia in the shadows, her hat pulled low over her face, but her expression entirely impassive.
She doesn’t look surprised.
“I have a few hunches of what’ll happen.”
Ina tenses. She drills holes into Amelia’s spot before the detective glances her way. Wordlessly, Amelia is heading for the door. Ina follows, her tentacles lashing angrily behind her. Outside she can see more damage strewn across the grass. Bits and pieces of what they’ve been working on for the last few days, all destroyed. It incites a fury in her.
“You knew.” Ina accused the moment they’re away from the church, “Somehow you knew this would happen.”
Amelia crosses her arms. Her expression shudders, “...I knew.”
“How?”
Amelia grabs the watch at her belt. The smile she gives Ina isn’t friendly, “You have a magical book that gives you unique powers. Is it such a stretch to believe this watch gives me the ability to time travel?”
Ina stares.
Amelia continues on with a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes, “There’s a hundred possibilities that could happen right here at this very moment, Ina. I can’t tell you what to do. You have to want to leave.”
“I do want to!” Ina bursts out. She can feel hot tears blurring her version, “I want to see my home, my family, I don’t want to just be your obligation. I don’t want to be stuck here.”
Slowly, as if she’s afraid, Amelia holds her hand out. Ina inhales sharply, the rest of the world falling into the background. It's just Amelia with her heartbroken eyes like she already knows what Ina is going to choose.
“Come with me then,” Amelia says. “I don’t want you to be an obligation either.”
Ina trembles, “This isn’t fair. I can’t leave, I can’t just abandon-” She covers her mouth with her hand. Horror is turning her stomach sideways. Just from Amelia’s face alone, she feels the chain become one hundred times heavier.
Amelia doesn’t lower her hand. She looks pleading, “Ina. You have to want to leave.”
Ina pictures it in her head. A hundred possibilities, a hundred times Amelia has watched her walk away. Why do you try so hard when you already know the answer? Ina stares uncomprehendingly. Why are you so determined…? Their situations are too similar. Ina’s will to complete the church alongside Amelia’s will to bring her home. Ina remembers their first conversation and almost falls to her knees. She flirted with me. Oh my god.
“Why do you do this to yourself?” Ina chokes out, “You’re only going to get hurt.”
Amelia still has that damn expression. Weary, sad, but smiling like Ina’s actually worth smiling about, “I don’t know. I’m zero for a hundred right now. I’m hoping to hit a lucky break. Maybe get a date too.”
Ina covers her face with her hands, “Stop.”
“I can’t stop.” Amelia’s arm shakes, “I really can’t.”
The confession rocks Ina’s world upside down. She peeks up at the detective. Blue eyes regarded her solemnly but fondly, “I really, really can’t.”
Ina doesn’t know what comes over her. She’s taking a step forward, a burst of adrenaline in her prompting her forward. She hesitates to a stop. The church was in ruins behind her. She had work to do. She can’t...
Amelia’s arm is still outstretched. She’s watching Ina, her eyes sparkling with hope. It makes Ina feel alive for the first time in a while. A connection to someone who’d jump back in time for her dozens of times. Her heart is singing. I want it. I want it so badly.
She reaches out and takes Amelia’s hand.
Tomorrow is-
And Amelia laughs.
-going to be a good day.
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END.